It is Monday morning in an Real store: a truck delivers several pallets stacked with new merchandise. Store workers immediately start stocking the merchandise into the shelves. But how do they know which product should be positioned where? And how can you safeguard that other Extra stores are also stocking the shelves in the same way, so customers can find their way around all stores? This is where METRO Group’s Shelf Management System (SMS) comes in. Category Managers from each respective sales division simulate how goods are to be stacked in shelves. The SMS team simulates stocking shelves on a computer. As a result they come up with detailed shelf plans, so-called planograms, which highlight exactly how merchandise is to be positioned. These shelf plans are forwarded to all stores and implemented on site. Their objective is to define compulsory criteria for positioning products in all stores. All stores in a sales division then have a standardized display which makes it easier for customers to find their way around. This in turn increases revenues and optimizes stock levels.

The METRO Group Shelf Management System is one element in the category management process chain. It is used to optimize the product range as well as the positioning of goods on the shelf and supports point of sale measures. Category Managers pool categories according to particular criteria: the may create special categories for specific uses such as the "Baby, Kids & Co." category in the Real distribution line, which includes diapers, clothing and infant food. Category Managers can use the Shelf Management System to quickly apply all positioning concepts and guidelines. Thanks to SMS merchandise positioning can be visualized on screen with planograms. A planogram gives an exact impression of the product positioning:

A planogram has a detailed answer to all these questions.

METRO Group’s shelf planning activities used to involve a lot of time and effort. Category Managers drafted rough diagrams and communicated them in positioning manuals. Today the AC Nielsen Spaceman (www.acnielsen.de) software is at the heart of METRO Group’s Shelf Management System. Category Managers from the Kaufhof, Real and Metro Cash & Carry sales divisions create item for item planograms with Spaceman based on key figures such as Article Master Data. This master data includes details such as dimensions and sales figures. These planograms are then forwarded to their stores electronically. Sales divisions such as Real and Metro Cash & Carry are deploying Spaceman with the support of a data base. The SMS data base is the cornerstone of the Shelf Management System. Kaufhof is using Spaceman without the support of a data base as a stand alone version. The advantage of the data base version is that the Metro Merchandise System (OneMMS) feeds planograms with any changes in the products being carried and the variable data. If Category Managers start carrying new products or strike articles from the range, the SMS data base automatically receives this information from the Metro Merchandising System (via MDW). The data feed from the merchandize system ensures that planograms are up-to-date and of high quality. Generally users no longer have to update data manually.

When creating planograms METRO Group’s Category Managers follow clearly defined positioning guidelines and the definitions of Visual Merchandizing, i.e. clear rules for displaying merchandise. These vary from distribution line to distribution line. In general, products can be grouped and displayed according to brands or usage. The customer’s point of view is of importance: Is the customer looking for a certain brand, such as readymade soups by Knorr or Maggi? Or is the customer looking for something for a certain usage, such as a skin care product for young or mature skin? In the case of the sales division Real one product is not allowed to be stacked on two shelves above each other. Another positioning guideline specifies: products which are in high demand should be stacked at the foot of the shelf, because the shelf is deepest at this part. Bulky and heavy products are also to be stacked low to ensure that customers can pick them from the shelf easily and safely.